Thursday, June 24, 2010

Lack of Reforms in FY11 Budget 'Disappointing'

House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. and Senate Minority Leader Richard R. Tisei released the following statement today, just hours after the budget conference committee released its report:

From day one, this budget process and the contents of the Fiscal Year 2011 budget have been a disappointment. From the lack of transparency and reform to the dependence on federal handouts, Governor Patrick and Democratic leaders on Beacon Hill have failed to craft a responsible and sustainable budget.

Governor Patrick released his budget proposal in January, relying on hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government and guaranteeing the money would be here shortly. Here we are, six months and $800 million later, and the FY11 budget is a mess due to the irresponsible decision to factor in federal money that Congress has yet to approve. Meanwhile, Democratic leaders took the Governor’s word to heart and made the same careless choices while crafting the House and Senate budgets.

House and Senate Republicans led the charge for reforms to assist the state’s taxpayers and local communities, but those reforms are nowhere to be found in the final budget. Local aid has been cut, services have been slashed, and the one tool that would allow cities and towns to rein in their health care costs and save $100 million – implementing health care plan design – has been taken away.

We, along with our Republican colleagues, will not be voting in favor of this budget and hope our friends across the aisle will join us in rejecting what is once again an unsustainable and irresponsible budget for the Commonwealth and its taxpayers.